Highlights from a 2008 Harris Poll nation-wide survey of 2,126 U.S. adults:

• Americans who believe in God: 80 percent (unchanged since the last survey in 2005)
  
  
• Americans who believe Jesus is the Son of God: 71 percent
  
  
• Americans who believe in the resurrection of Jesus: 70 percent
  
  
• Americans who believe in the Virgin Birth: 61 percent
  
  
• Americans who believe in the survival of the soul after death: 68 percent
  
  

In a sermon entitled "Courage," pastor and author Mark Buchanan shares a funny story that reminds us how our courage—or lack thereof—can cast God in a positive or negative light to others:

A few years ago at a Willow Creek Summit, Jack Groppel, who works with leaders to hone optimum performance, showed two video clips. The first video was of a group of NFL linebackers. When they showed ...

Jack Handey, known for his odd sense of humor frequently expressed in an old Saturday Night Live segment titled "Deep Thoughts," wrote an equally odd book entitled Fuzzy Memories. In it Handey relates the story of a bully who demanded his lunch money every day when he was a child. Because Handey was smaller than the bully, he simply gave the bully his money.

"Then I decided to fight back," Handey ...

My youth group was hundreds of miles from home on a mission trip in New Orleans. We were piled in the van on the way back to the motel when someone yelled out, "I get the pay phone first!"

"Why?" another kid asked. "Who do you need to call?"

"It's Father's Day, dork!" came the reply.

Father's Day. I hadn't thought about that in years. As everyone scrambled for coins and planned out a calling schedule, ...

Professional football player Troy Polamalu, a three-time Pro Bowl strong safety for the Pittsburgh Steelers, has worked hard to maintain his Christian character since joining the NFL in 2003. Before winning his second Super Bowl championship with the Steelers in 2009, Polamalu agreed to an interview for the Christian Broadcasting Network (CBN). "Pride is tough," Polamalu said to the interviewer. "You ...

According to a 2008 Harris Initiative survey, there has been a steady decline in the basic religious beliefs of Americans over the last four years (2005–2008):

Belief in God:
2005: 90 percent
2008: 80 percent

Belief in heaven:
2005: 82 percent
2008: 73 percent

Belief in the Devil:
2005: 68 percent
2008: 59 percent

Belief in hell:
2005: 69 percent
2008: 62 percent

The Devil Wears Prada tells the story of Andrea Sachs (Anne Hathaway), a journalism graduate who takes a job as second assistant at a prestigious fashion magazine. Caring nothing for fashion, Andrea finds herself answering the beck and call of Miranda Priestly (Meryl Streep), the ultra-demanding, diva-like editor. Andrea not only survives, but thrives in her role, changing in both appearance and values. ...

We can actually learn a lot about some of Satan's strategies in spiritual warfare by studying the military strategies of some of the warriors of old. In his book Head Game, author Tim Downs writes:

Psy-ops stands for Psychological Operations, a form of warfare as old as the art of war itself. An early example of this can be found in the battle strategies of Alexander the Great. On one occasion when ...

For most of the nation, Halloween is a time of kids, costumes, and candy. Unfortunately, that hasn't been the case for Detroit, Michigan, and its surrounding suburbs. For the past several years, Detroit's annual three-day festival, called Devil's Night, has been dominated by destructive behavior. Citizens have thrown rocks and bottles at police cars, vandalized property, and burned items ranging from ...

If we knew the most likely place a thief might strike would we react differently? The front door and first-floor window are the most common places burglars enter homes. With that in mind, consider the percentage of people who have done the following:

• Left windows open: 49 percent
• Left front door unlocked: 37 percent
• Left back door unlocked: 33 percent
• Hid key outside: 26 percent
• Left inside garage open: 22 percent